PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:  16 September 2003
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2002082406

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.  

	Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Ms. Joyce A. Wright		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Ms. Karen A. Heinz		Member	
	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests, in effect, that he be transferred to the Retired Reserve.

3.  The applicant states that he was mistakenly discharged and requests placement in the Retired Reserve.  In support of his application, he submits a copy of his National Guard Bureau (NGB) Form 22 (Report of Separation and Record of Service), Notification of Eligibility for Retired Pay at age 60 (20-Year Letter), dated 15 August 1999, and his Army National Guard Current Annual Statement, dated 21 February 1992.

4.  The applicant's military records show he enlisted in the US Army Reserve (USAR) on 21 October 1981, with prior military service. 

5.  He was promoted to staff sergeant (SSG/E-6) with an effective date and date of rank (DOR) of 20 November 1984.

6.  He was promoted to sergeant first class (SFC/E-7) with an effective date and DOR of 1 April 1989.

7.  On 15 August 1989, the Army Reserve Personnel Center (AR-PERCEN) notified the applicant that he had completed the required years of service to be eligible for retired pay upon applicant’s age at 60 (20-Year Letter).

8.  He was honorably released from the USAR on 29 August 1990, in the rank and pay grade of SFC/E-7, in order to enlist in the Missouri Army National Guard (MOARNG).  He enlisted in the MOARNG on 30 August 1990.  

9.  On 7 November 1990, orders were published reducing the applicant from SFC/E-7 to SSG/E-6, effective 30 August 1990, with a DOR of 20 November 1984.

10.  He was honorably discharged from the MOARNG on 27 September 1991, in the rank of SSG.

11.  The applicant provided a copy of his Summary of Retirement Points, which shows he had completed 20 years of qualifying service for retirement purposes.

12.  Army Regulation 140-10, in effect at the time, set forth the basic authority for the assignment, attachment, detail, and transfer of USAR soldiers.  Chapter 7 of the regulation relates to the removal of soldiers from an active status and states, in pertinent part, that soldiers removed from an active status will be discharged or, if qualified and if they so request, will be transferred to the Retired Reserve.

13.  Army Regulation 135-178, in effect at the time, established the policies, standards, and procedures governing the administrative separation of enlisted soldiers from the Reserve Components.  Paragraph 1-3 states, in pertinent part,
that orders discharging a soldier would not be revoked or the effective date changed after the effective date of discharge unless there was evidence of 
manifest error or fraud.  After the effective date of discharge, orders could be amended by the separation authority only to correct manifest errors such as the wrong character of service or to correct administrative errors such as errors concerning rank, social security number, or misspelled name.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  In the absence of evidence to the contrary, it must be presumed that the
applicant’s discharge was accomplished in accordance with law and regulations applicable at the time.

2.  It is apparent that the applicant was qualified for transfer to the Retired Reserve as indicated by the issuance of a 20-Year Letter and had completed 20 years of qualifying service for retirement purposes. 

3.  Inasmuch as the applicant meets eligibility requirements for assignment to the Retired Reserve, it would be equitable and just to correct his military records by revoking his discharge of 27 September 1991 from the Reserve of the Army and assigning him to the USAR Control Group (Retired).

4.  Additionally, because he voluntarily accepted an administrative reduction in the MOARNG to pay grade E-6 based on the lack of an E-7 position, the applicant should be placed in the Retired Reserve in pay grade E-7.

5.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  Insofar as records of the Missouri Army National Guard are concerned, the ABCMR recommends that the Adjutant General of the State of Missouri correct the records of the individual concerned:  

a.  by revoking the 27 September 1991 discharge from the Reserve of the Army; and

b.  by transferring the applicant to the Retired Reserve effective 27 September 1991, in the rank and pay grade of SSG/E-6.

2.  That the Army Reserve Personnel Command access him in the Retired Reserve in the pay grade of E-7, his highest grade satisfactorily held. 

BOARD VOTE:  

___fe__  ___kh___  ___mm___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__Fred N. Eichorn_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002082406	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20030916	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD 	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19910927	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	NGR 600-200	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	338	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.